Lingere ads featuring Simone Holtznagel's were pulled after complaints. Photo / Instagram
Lingere ads featuring Simone Holtznagel's were pulled after complaints. Photo / Instagram
Australian model Simone Holtznagel has had enough.
As the face of lingerie and underwear brand Playboy for Bras N Things, the blonde beauty was left in shock after her ad was stripped from stores across the country last August following complaints it resembled "amateur porn".
The video, which played on screens within Bras N Things stores, featured Holtznagel posing in a series of sexual positions while modelling the latest Playboy lingerie range.
The model said the comments from one particular "Australian mummy blogger" angered her the most. Photo / Bras N Things
Holtznagel, who was a contestant on the 2011 Australia's Next Top Model, said the whole ordeal was "ridiculous" and that the ad was "far from offensive".
"I'm not sure what kind of porn other people are watching, but as far as I'm concerned that video was tasteful and beautiful," Holtznagel told news.com.au.
"It wasn't just frustrating that it was taken down, it was more the fact that a couple of people deemed it offensive and said it looked like porn when it absolutely did not.
"Bras N Things are very much about showcasing confidence and beautiful women. It was disappointing that someone thought this ad was inappropriate when it definitely wasn't."
In August, a series of complaints were made to the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau, claiming the instore screens were so large, seeing the ads was "unavoidable".
"This was in an ordinary public place, with children and families there, why should they be confronted with it in a shopping mall," read one complaint.
"It was vulgar, unsuitable for the young and simply demeaning for any woman walking past.
"It was a demeaning and embarrassing display."
Holtznagel, whose new Bras N Things advertorial campaign will launch in stores this week, said the complaints didn't influence how they approached the 2017 shoot.
"There's worse things on social media and on TV, so I'm not quite sure why someone would be offended by these ads," she said.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I don't see why a video advertising lingerie and shown in a lingerie shop is pulled down."
Holtznagel, who laughed at receiving more than 30,000 additional Instagram followers in the subsequent days following the ad saga, said the comments from one particular "Australian mummy blogger" angered her the most.
"I saw one article that was written by an Australian mummy blogger ... or whatever she wants to refer to herself as," Holtznagel said.
"She completely tore shreds off my ad, saying how inappropriate it was and that she didn't want to be walking around shopping centres with her kids seeing that sort of stuff.
"And she posted the link not once but twice on her Facebook page. But then shortly afterwards, this blogger posted a link to The Top 10 Best Bras for women. And the photo that was attached to the post was of a girl lying on a bed in lingerie, so it was kind of a contradiction."
Earlier this month, the 23-year-old named and shamed an Instagram user, alleging the stranger sent her an "unsolicited" nude photo via a messaging service, Holtznagel took to her own social media account to share what appeared to be a screen grab of the photo.
Holtznagel's response to receiving an 'unsolicited' nude picture from a stranger. Photo / Instagram
Ms Holtznagel, who slammed the sender for posting "online sexual harassment on a Sunday morning," said she was "offended" and "weirded out" by the message.
"It's not a joke and it is offensive," she told news.com.au.
"You wouldn't walk down the street and proposition a pretty girl by getting your junk out. This is basically the same thing. It's unwanted sexual attention."
Holtznagel, who is now based in Los Angeles, said that while she rarely receives explicit images, she decided to call this particular social media user out.
But days after posting the image on her account, her post was quickly deleted by Instagram who said it "didn't follow community guidelines".
"Last time I checked, sending someone a photo of their genitalia doesn't follow community guidelines either," she said.
"Yet his account [sender of the nude image] is still up, and I think that's a little bit backward."
While the Wollongong-born model and aspiring actor doesn't frequently receive lewd pictures, she couldn't understand the driving force behind sending such "weird" messages to women.
"What kind of person are you to say these things to a girl you don't even know?," she said.
"Just because you're a model doesn't mean that you're open to these sorts of advances from strangers.
"And what do they think is going to happen? They will send me a picture of their penis and I will write back and say let's meet up?
"It's the same as cat calling and whistling. Do they think a pretty girl is going to say hey what's your number? Sorry, it's not going to happen. It's unnecessary and it's rude. "If you're ever considering sending a message to any girl like this, don't do it - because it's never going to get you anywhere."
